The Rev. Kate Reuer (center), new campus pastor for the University of Minnesota’s ELCA campus ministry, shares a meal with about 30 students gathered for Bread and Belonging, a Sunday evening meal and fellowship opportunity. Metro Lutheran photo: Bob Hulteen

“I use a lot of different languages over the course of a given day,” says Reuer. “I might sit next to a professor from the law school in the morning, have lunch with a first-year student from rural Minnesota at noon, and talk with a church council in Eden Prairie in the evening,” she continues. She believes that it is vital for the campus ministry to have someone visibly present in each of these settings.

“My vision for a Lutheran presence on this campus includes providing a safe and hospitable place for people with questions about faith and life to come to wrestle with those questions.” While in the past “the dialogue between secular and religious people [on campus] has not always been that productive,” Reuer believes that by connecting “students with mentors who live out their vocations in so many different ways,” students can get a broader view of the church.

Reuer is always looking to include more Lutheran students in LCM events. Local congregations can refer names of their members who are attending the university by sending her an e-mail at kate@graceattheu.org.

Reuer recognizes that her “flock” is constantly revolving. But she is excited about giving young people options for connection to congregations while in school. She sees it as a way “we can be church together.”